Africans In Tech

In this powerful episode of Africans in Tech, host Sahr Lebbie sits down with Jarrett Albritton — tech sales veteran, speaker, and founder of Big Stage Energy — for a raw, unfiltered conversation about what it really takes to succeed in tech, business, and life.

From door-to-door sales and landing an enterprise role at IBM, to speaking on stages with billionaires and building a platform rooted in relationships, results, and integrity, Jarrett breaks down the mindset shifts most people never hear about.

This episode goes far beyond “breaking into tech.”
It’s about staying valuable, monetizing your expertise, and building long-term security in an AI-driven economy.

🎯 In This Episode, We Cover:

• How Jarrett Albritton broke into enterprise tech sales without a traditional path
• Why results matter more than titles, certifications, or hype
• The truth about tech influencers, lifestyle marketing, and fake success
• How relationships create job security—even during layoffs
• Integrity in sales vs. “whatever it takes” mentality
• Turning subject-matter expertise into stages, podcasts, and income
• Why personal branding is insurance in the attention economy
• How AI is changing work—and how to stay irreplaceable
• Faith, purpose, and building generational wealth with intention

This episode is a masterclass in mindset, sales, leadership, and visibility — especially for Black and African professionals navigating tech and entrepreneurship.

🔗 Connect with Jarrett Albritton:

• Instagram: @doctaj
• Podcast: Big Tech Energy

🎙️ Africans in Tech — building bridges and shaping futures in tech.

If this episode resonated with you, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs this message.

This week on Africans in Tech, we sit down with Ayo, founder of Techsgiving, and unpack how he built one of the most influential tech conferences for Black and Brown professionals in the DMV. From a humble rooftop meetup to Nationals Park Stadium with 7,000+ attendees, his journey is a blueprint for anyone scaling community with intention, culture, and infrastructure.

If you're building a startup, conference, or career from scratch — this episode is a masterclass in staying mission-first while growing fast.

✨ What You’ll Learn:

• How Ayo went from IT shop work at age 14, Lockheed Martin, Meta/Facebook
• Why Techsgiving was born as a “pay it forward” movement tied to Thanksgiving
• Scaling from 50-person mixers → Audi Field → Nationals Park level impact
• The product mindset behind Techsgiving: listen to users, then build
• How to build a mission-aligned team instead of just filling roles
• Automations + systems: using Zapier, Airtable, Salesforce & AI to scale
• Partnering with cities like Atlanta to upskill and certify residents
• Fatherhood, leadership, and thinking long-term about legacy & exit strategy
• Why relationships, money, and how community fuels growth

🎯 Attending Techsgiving for the First Time?

Expect real value — not vibes alone:

• Tech certs, workshops, hiring pipelines, on-site interviews
• Mentor matching with leaders from Amazon, Salesforce & more
• Pitch competitions — $10K for founders, $5K for students
• A career-forward environment built on community, access, and opportunity

🌍 Connect with Techsgiving

Website: techsgiving.co
Email: [email protected]

Socials: @techsgiving on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X

📡 Connect With Africans in Tech

Speaking, partnerships, podcast features:
Email: [email protected]

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Africans in Tech — building bridges, creating access, and shaping futures in tech. 🌉🚀

In this inspiring episode of the Africans in Tech Podcast, host Sahr Lebbie sits down with Banke Balogun, a LA based model turned Solutions Engineer, to explore her incredible journey from the runway to the world of tech. 💻

✨ In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

💪 Why confidence is the #1 skill to master when breaking into tech

💬 How to “fake it till you make it” — and still show up authentically

🌐 The importance of network building inside and outside your company

👩🏾‍⚕️ How to pivot from healthcare to tech using transferable skills

👠 Lessons from the modeling industry and how AI is reshaping fashion

🧠 How she landed her first tech role at a health startup, then joined DocuSign

🤝 Why networking, mentorship, and confidence open doors to global opportunities

🎤 About the Guest:
Banke Balogun is a Los Angeles–based Solutions Engineer, model, and mentor helping others pivot into tech with confidence. She’s passionate about healthcare innovation, AI in fashion, and building global communities for women in tech.


📺 Watch the Whiteboard Session: Coming soon!
📲 Follow Banke: Instagram — @lebanke
🎧 Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

🔥 Subscribe, like, and share if you believe in confidence, community, and breaking barriers in tech.

#AfricansInTech #SahrLebbie #BankeBalogun #WomenInTech #CareerPivot #Confidence #Networking #TechPodcast #HealthcareTech #DocuSign #ModelToTech #AIInFashion

🚀 From AI Solutions Specialist to Tech Founder — Ashley Robinson is on a mission to make the world a better place through technology.

In this powerful episode of Africans in Tech Podcast, Ashley shares how she went from psychology and HR to becoming a Generative AI Engineer and now the CEO & Founder of Better Boost, a wearable tech startup creating AI-powered smart glasses that translate languages, assist with navigation, and enhance communication — all while protecting user data.

💬 “My mission is to make the world a better place. Technology for good — that’s what we’re here for.” — Ashley Robinson

💡 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

🌍 Ashley’s journey from HR → AI → Startup Founder

🤖 Building AI avatars & chatbots for healthcare

👓 How she built Better Boost and landed Shaquille O’Neal as a Founders Club member

🧠 Smart Glasses that translate 12+ languages and work offline

🩺 The future of AI in healthcare, wearables, and accessibility

⚙️ AI ethics, ownership, and creating technology for good

🔥 Her goal to build the most advanced wearable tech startup in the world

💪 Why she believes in 100% ownership and impact-driven innovation

🔗 Connect with Ashley:

📸 Instagram: @thegardenofash

💼 LinkedIn: Ashley Robinson 

✨ “There’s no better time to be alive — build, upskill, and create your own AI-backed business today.”
🎧 Subscribe to Africans in Tech — where we’re building bridges and shaping futures in tech.

In this powerful and thought-provoking episode, host S. Lebbie sits down with Manal Al-ansi — attorney, educator, and visionary founder of Diaspora District — to explore her remarkable journey from Ethiopia 🇪🇹 to Seattle, Washington 🇺🇸, and her mission to connect education, culture, and innovation across continents.

From navigating identity in American classrooms to shaping policy at the City of Seattle’s Race & Social Justice Initiative, Manal’s story is one of resilience, purpose, and impact. She opens up about what it takes to redefine access to education for underserved communities and how diasporic collaboration can transform the future of African education systems.

💡 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
✅ How socioeconomic background shapes educational aspirations, opportunity, and long-term success
✅ Why mentorship, representation, and culturally responsive teaching are essential for equity in learning
✅ Inside insights on Teach for America — the triumphs, the cultural blind spots, and what true inclusion looks like in education reform
✅ How Manal transitioned from law to education leadership and public policy, blending advocacy with systemic change
✅ What it’s really like to work inside government — lessons learned from the City of Seattle’s Race & Social Justice Initiative
✅ The story behind Diaspora District — a platform fostering collaboration between African educators, policymakers, and innovators
✅ A preview of the Global Education Conference in Ghana (Dec 17–20, 2025) — focused on cross-industry partnerships, policy reform, and sustainable innovation in African education
✅ The exciting announcement of Global Diaspora Day, launching July 25, 2026, in Atlanta, GA 🎉 — celebrating connection, creativity, and community across the African diaspora

🎙 Africans in Tech Podcast — Where stories of impact meet innovation. Building bridges, shaping futures.


📅 Diaspora District Global Education Conference
📍 Accra, Ghana | 🗓 December 17–20, 2025
🔗 diasporadistrict.com

🌐 Connect with Manal:
Website: diasporadistrict.com
Instagram: @diasporadistrict
LinkedIn: Manal Al-Ansi
Email: [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for more global impact stories!

🚀 From the U.S. Air Force to Cybersecurity, and now thriving in Data Science — Jerrod Douglas has done it all. In this episode of the Africans in Tech Podcast, Jerrod shares how discipline, curiosity, and mentorship shaped his success in the tech industry.

🎙 Hosted by Sahr Lebbie & Queen Duncan, this conversation dives deep into Jerrod’s transformation — from military life to tech professional, author, and viral creator.

💡 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

✅ How Jerrod transitioned from cybersecurity operations → data science
✅ The mindset needed to pivot careers and stay competitive in tech
✅ Why he wrote his new book No Nonsense Tech
✅ How his appearance on Pop the Balloon went viral (and what it taught him)
✅ The importance of mentorship and community in tech
✅ How to balance grad school, fitness, and a demanding career

📘 Jerrod’s Book: No Nonsense Tech – Available now on Amazon
📱 Follow Jerrod: @thefittechguy

🎧 Listen to more episodes: Africans in Tech Podcast

In this episode of Africans in Tech, we sit down with Paige Malcolm, a driven software and cloud engineer who turned classroom learning and internships into a full-time role at a Fortune 500 insurance company.

Paige shares how she transitioned from studying software engineering to landing two internships — one as a functional analyst and another in cloud engineering — before negotiating her first full-time offer and building a life in a new state.

She opens up about navigating diversity in tech, balancing work with personal growth, and learning cutting-edge tools like Microsoft Azure and Terraform to manage infrastructure at scale.

💻 What you’ll learn in this episode:

How Paige landed back-to-back internships and a Fortune 500 offer

The art of negotiating your first tech salary

What it’s really like working in cloud engineering full-time

Her experience as one of few Black women in tech spaces

Relocating for work and finding community in a new city

Building confidence and owning your career path

🧠 Tech Stack: Microsoft Azure | Terraform | PowerShell | ASDO (Azure DevOps)

👩🏾‍💻 Connect with Paige:
Follow her journey as she builds her career and continues empowering others to break into tech.

🎧 Watch more from Africans in Tech
Subscribe for real conversations with builders, engineers, and leaders driving innovation across Africa and the diaspora.

📱 Follow us
Instagram: [@africansintech]

In this Africans in Tech episode, we sit down with Jonte Charles, a former collegiate athlete turned cloud engineer, to unpack the mindset, discipline, and lessons that helped him transition from the wrestling mat to mastering the cloud.

We talk about:
💭 Why treating ChatGPT like a “copy-paste machine” is holding you back
⚙️ The athlete’s mindset that builds resilience in tech careers
☁️ Understanding cloud scalability and problem-solving like a pro
💡 The importance of debugging — and why the struggle is where you grow
🔥 How to stay sharp, stay humble, and keep your edge in a fast-changing industry

If you’re trying to pivot into tech or level up your skills, this episode is packed with real insights and practical takeaways.

🎧 Watch more from Africans in Tech
Subscribe for real conversations with builders, engineers, and leaders driving innovation across Africa and the diaspora.

Connect with Cloud Tech - https://www.youtube.com/@cloudtechexec

From protecting billions of users at Snap to flying 94 times in a single year, Yasmin shares her inspiring journey of leaving Big Tech to build her own company, NoHack. 🚀

In this episode of Africans in Tech, we dive into Yasmin's story — from late nights studying at the University of Maryland, to internships at Snapchat, Google, and Meta, to becoming the first Black woman in engineering at Snapchat, and now, a founder tackling cybersecurity challenges head-on.

We cover:
✅ Why small businesses can’t afford to ignore cybersecurity
✅ How ransomware & deepfakes are changing the game
✅ AI’s double-edged sword in security — threat detection vs. new attack vectors
✅ Building tech opportunities back in Somalia & across Africa
📚 Grinding through college while chasing opportunities
💡 Navigating failure and turning it into growth
🌍 Breaking barriers in Big Tech without mentors
🔑 Lessons on resilience, representation, and building a future in tech

This conversation goes beyond personal career growth — it’s about cybersecurity, global infrastructure, resilience, and the next wave of AI-powered threats. If you’ve ever wondered how leaders in cybersecurity think about protecting people, businesses, and even countries, this episode is for you.

💡 Don’t miss the part about deepfakes, LeBron James, and the scary future of social engineering.

📩 Got questions or want to share your story? Email us: [email protected]

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the 🔔 to catch more inspiring stories from Africans in Tech!

In this episode of Africans in Tech, we sit down with Joel Iyiegbuniwe — Nigerian-American, former Chicago Bears linebacker, and aspiring tech leader — to talk about life on and off the field.

We cover:

Growing up Nigerian-American in Kentucky
🎭 Early dreams of being an athlete, doctor, or actor
🏈 Excelling in college football & making it to the NFL
🧠 Cognitive challenges of learning complex playbooks
💪 Why athletes’ discipline translates into careers beyond sports
👨‍👩‍👦 Family expectations, culture, and finding balance
💵 Lessons in money, relationships, and long-term planning

Whether you’re an athlete, tech enthusiast, or just curious about life after professional sports, Joel’s story is full of lessons on resilience, focus, and personal growth.

📩 Got questions or want to share your story? Email us: [email protected]

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications for more inspiring stories from Africans in Tech!